Presidential Message
PRESIDENTIAL TRANSMITTAL LETTER: BUDGET FY
2010
TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES:
I have the honor to transmit to you the
Budget of the United States Government for Fiscal Year 2010.
In my February 26th budget overview,
A New Era of Responsibility: Renewing Americafs Promise, I provided a
broad outline of how our Nation came to this moment of economic, financial, and
fiscal crisis; and how my Administration plans to move this economy from
recession to recovery and lay a new foundation for long-term economic growth and
prosperity. This Budget fills out this picture by providing full
programmatic details and proposing appropriations language and other required
information for the Congress to put these plans fully into effect.
Specifically, this Budget details the pillars
of the stable and broad economic growth we seek: making long overdue
investments and reforms in education so that every child can compete in the
global economy, undertaking health care reform so that we can control costs
while boosting coverage and quality, and investing in renewable sources of
energy so that we can reduce our dependence on foreign oil and become the world
leader in the new clean energy economy.
Fiscal discipline is another critical pillar in
this economic foundation. My Administration came into office facing a
budget deficit of $1.3 trillion for this year alone, and the cost of confronting
the recession and financial crisis has been high. While these are
extraordinary times that have demanded extraordinary responses, it is impossible
to put our Nation on a course for long-term growth without beginning to rein in
unsustainable deficits and debt. We no longer can afford to tolerate
investments in programs that are outdated, duplicative, ineffective, or
wasteful.
That is why the Budget I am sending to you
includes a separate volume of terminations, reductions, and savings that my
Administration has identified since we sent the budget overview to you 10 weeks
ago. In it, we identify programs that do not accomplish the goals set for
them, do not do so efficiently, or do a job already done by another initiative.
Overall, we have targeted more than 100 programs that should be ended or
substantially changed, moves that will save nearly $17 billion next year alone.
These efforts are just the next phase of a
larger and longer effort needed to change how Washington does business and put
our fiscal house in order. To that end, the Budget includes billions of
dollars in savings from steps ranging from ending subsidies for big oil and gas
companies, to eliminating entitlements to banks and lenders making student
loans. It provides an historic down payment on health care reform, the key to
our long-term fiscal future, and was constructed without commonly used budget
gimmicks that, for instance, hide the true costs of war and natural disasters.
Even with these costs on the books, the Budget will cut the deficit in
half by the end of my first term, and we will bring non-defense discretionary
spending to its lowest level as a share of GDP since 1962.
Finally, in order to keep America strong and
secure, the Budget includes critical investments in rebuilding our military,
securing our homeland, and expanding our diplomatic efforts because we need to
use all elements of our power to provide for our national security. We are not
only proposing significant funding for our national security, but we are also
being careful with those investments by, for instance, reforming defense
contracting so that we are using our defense dollars to their maximum
effect.
I have little doubt that there will be various
interests -- vocal and powerful -- who will oppose different aspects of this
Budget. Change is never easy. However, I believe that after an era
of profound irresponsibility, Americans are ready to embrace the shared
responsibilities we have to each other and to generations to come. They
want to put old arguments and the divisions of the past behind us, put
problem-solving ahead of point-scoring, and reconstruct an economy that is built
on a solid new foundation. If we do that, America once again will teem
with new industry and commerce, hum with the energy of new discoveries and
inventions, and be a place where anyone with a good idea and the will to work
can live their dreams.
I am gratified and encouraged by the support I
have received from the Congress thus far, and I look forward to working with you
in the weeks ahead as we put these plans into practice and make this vision of
America a reality.
BARACK OBAMA
THE WHITE HOUSE,
May 7, 2009.